Jurassic WORLD coming to life

By Kelly Milner Halls

here is a rumor going around that only kids love dinosaurs. But if you examine the success of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World film franchise, that rumor is clearly untrue. Millions have a secret paleo passion. And the Jurassic World Live Tour is ready to feed their yearnings.

On Friday, June 2, Saturday June 3 and Sunday, June 4, five live action dinosaur performances will electrify the Spokane Arena and all ticketed Pacific Northwesterners lucky enough to attend.

The dramatic production features professional actors and 24 film accurate, life-sized animatronic dinosaurs—including Blue, the oversized Velociraptor, Bumpy, the baby ankylosaur that grows before your eyes, and a 40-foot-long king, Tyrannosaurus rex.

Transformed with tropical greenery, the arena will become a make-shift Isla Nublar where scientists strive to foil an enemy’s corrupt plan to subject the dinosaurs to greed driven cruelties. Thanks to pulse-pounding stunts and the powerful Jurassic World musical score, the program will provide a gripping escape for folks eager to attend.

In addition to the dramatic performances, ticket holders are encouraged to enjoy the “Pre-Show Experience.” Come an hour before showtime to get an up-close look at Jurassic World vehicles including the Gyrosphere and the iconic jeep. Then make use of fun photo ops with a Triceratops, a Stegosaurus and Baby Bumpy.

If you are among those secret dinosaur fans, remember—they will come to life in June of 2023, and thousands of Spokanites will have the chance to bare witness.

For more information, Visit the Jurassic World Live Tour website: jurassicworldlivetour.com.

Before the original Jurassic Park film debuted in June of 1993, Steven Spielberg and his Hollywood mag ic makers wanted to use the carnivorous Velociraptor as one of its pivotal dinosaur bad guys in the movie. There was just one problem. It was the size of a large turkey.

With a hearty dose of creative license, Spielberg super-sized the Velociraptor to the six-foot-tall menace you eventually saw chasing John Hammond’s grandkids through the Isla Nublar visitor’s center.

And here’s the ironic part. The same month and year they released Jurassic Park, Utah State Paleontologist Jim Kirkland found a new raptor he called Utahraptor and it really was six-feet-tall. Spielberg made it up, and it turned out to be true.

The franchise raptors are still referred to Velociraptors in the latest films—probably for audience continuity. But the truth is out there.